Monday, September 14, 2009

A Brand New Week With No Mistakes In It

The last couple of weeks have been hectic, scattered, sometimes frustrating. So today is Monday, yesterday being the last day of the fair (with its attendant checking out of the stuff in the 4-H building) felt more like the end of a week than the beginning. So I'm now looking at a fresh new week with no mistakes in it as Anne would say. It just has the mistakes of past weeks still in it. This week brings up a doctor's appt., that will underscore the mistakes of a year (I've gained back about 15 pounds!), a trip to Rutland to take the final paperwork to the 4-H office. That's because of a mistake I made last week in not xeroxing out a copy of one piece of paperwork. It also means a possible trip to the furniture store to try out mattresses because the new one seems to be a mistake (I'm still waking up every 2-3 hours all night long). So the mistakes of the past are following me into this new mistake free week.

Yet, I'm still feeling like it's a brand new week. The sun is shining, I ate a healthy breakfast, there are new pictures of my granddaughter to print out. I'm feeling more energetic than I have in a couple of days . I'm actually thinking about perhaps getting some actual exercise. None of those particular mistakes of the past week, or past year are beyond repairing, unlike some sorts of mistakes.

I've been reading Art and Larraine Bennet's book Understanding Your Temperament, and I'm realizing that my upbeat attitude towards a new week probably has a lot to do with my basic temperament. I'm a sanguine, no doubt about it (just ask my kids!). I have the attention span of a Labrador Retriever puppy, I start projects with enthusiasm, but have to force myself to finish them. I'm a sidetracked home executive, a failure at FlyLady, but I bounce back like Tigger. Reading the book helps me understand not only myself, but the other members of the family as well. It also helps me understand why they don't always understand me. What our family is lacking, pretty much across the board, is a driven choleric who could take charge and make things happen. My father was one of those. We have melancholics, galore, several phlegmatics and well at least a couple of sanguines. The problem with this mix is that, the phlegmatics have a difficult time getting started on a project, the melancholics are too perfectionistic to tackle it, and we sanguines are great starters but have no real sticking power. To add to the problem sanguines are really sensitive to other people's moods so when the discouraging words do come from the melancholics it's far too easy to simply give up (something we sanguines do easily enough without discouraging words).

Soooo, I'm trying to harness all of the self-discipline I naturally lack, and bringing my no mistakes yet enthusiasm into this week, actually accomplish some of the tasks I've set out for myself. I've got a sweater I'm working on, a pair of socks to finish (just got to pick up the stitches around the heel and knit down to the toe), there are peppers in the garden that need to have something done with them, I've promised to visit a friend this week, and to bring some herbs to my daughter in the big city. Then of course there is that aforementioned doctor's appointment, as well as getting set up with my tutoring schedule for Brigid. What with housework, exercise, eating right it could be a busy week. However, right now it still looks like this wonderful blank sheet of paper with no blotches on it. I'm praying for the grace to make it productive, a week filled with loving acts, and no mistakes in it.

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About Me

I am a sixty something convert to the Catholic Church. I homeschooled my kids who are now grown up. We raise sheep whose wool I spin and knit. I love to read good books both fiction and non-fiction. I don't read romance novels (except for things like Jane Austen), I love cozy mysteries, I'm ambivalent about science fiction (some I love, most I don't), I re-read my favorite authors repeatedly.
I'm allergic to exercise in general, but I do sometimes enjoy hand weights and swimming.
I'd rather eat chocolate than potato chips.
I love to spend time with my friends, but I also love to spend time alone.
The middle ages is my favorite time period with Edwardian England perhaps coming in as a close second, but only if I could live either next door to Chesterton or in Saint Mary Mead.